“The Fantasticks” might be best known for its longevity. It opened in New York’s Greenwich Village in 1960 and ran for 42 years – more than 17,000 performances. Since the original show closed in 2002, the show has been revived by theatre troupes around the world, and it comes to Springfield’s Hoogland Center for the Arts Jan. 10-12 and 18-20.

Peter Gray sat down with cast members Gus Gordon and Kara DeWall to discuss how this simple love story has something more to teach students of theatre young and old. On the surface, it’s about a boy, a girl and two match-making fathers. But those who take a closer look will find that this production dips into a deep well of theatrical traditions, from Roman mythology to Japanese Kabuki, Shakespearean comedy to the aesthetics of Bertolt Brecht: